But Trumps defense argued that Trump wasnt the one interfering with the election in fact, they said, now Democrats are, through a process that has involved selective leaks, closed door meetings and incomplete presentation of facts.

Theyre here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history, and we cant allow that to happen, said White House counsel Pat Cipollone.

He said earlier that Democrats were asking the Senate to overturn the 2016 election and interfere in the next one something that could be argued for any removal from office in an election year.

Theyre asking you to remove President Trump from the ballot in an election thats occurring in approximately nine months, Cipollone said. Theyre asking you to tear up all of the ballots across this country ... take that decision away from the American people.

Trumps attorneys suggested at the beginning of the day that they plan to spend far less time defending the president than House Democratic impeachment managers spent arguing for the prosecution. While Democrats spent all of the 24 hours allotted by the rules, Trumps team spent about two hours on Saturday and far less than the 24 total. They argued that they dont need the time, again referring to the election.

We will finish efficiently and quickly so we can all go have an election, Cipollone said.

The fact that Democrats took up all of their allotted 24 hours to argue their case came up repeatedly. Trumps attorneys argued that, in all of that time, the House managers had failed to include certain details. Mike Purpura, deputy counsel to the president, noted that Ukrainian leaders have said they did not feel pressured, that some top officials in the U.S. and Ukraine have said they didnt know the assistance was paused, that aid was eventually approved and that Trumps support for the nation was stronger than his predecessors.

Purpura said that by suggesting Trump did pressure Ukraine, Democrats were effectively accusing Ukrainian leaders of lying.

There cant be a quid pro quo without the quo, Purpura said, arguing Ukrainian officials couldnt have been pressured by the Trump administration if they were unaware of the hold on the aid.

But Olena Zerkal, a former deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, said Ukrainian diplomats in Washington knew there was a problem with the aid as early as July 25 , the day of Trumps phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that prompted the impeachment inquiry. Her account was backed up by congressional testimony from Laura Cooper , the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.